Hard cover artist books? Well obviously this is the first thing that comes to mind:

I’m presently the librarian at the preschool I work at, so I often see books that really amuse me with simple, yet stunningly practical pop-up designs. I like the tactile books that use fabrics and or punch/pop outs creatively to create textures that run throughout the book. For example, “the Very Hungry Caterpillar,” by Eric Carle has a counting scheme that is reinforced by the holes the caterpillar munches on every page. These books are great for the children at nap time when they have a chance to look at them on their own, but I often find these kinds of books more difficult to read to the children in large groups.

When it comes to adult books, again I don’t like the covers to be too ornamental. I think the nicest feature a hardbound book can have aside from being bound simply and sturdily is a ribbon bookmark attached to the binding. This is always nice when reading. I found this journal design at the site:

Book By Design is a blog site marketing hand made books by a woman named Stacia who lives in San Francisco. On the blog she talks about her life in relation to the books she creates as well as discusses the materials and methods she uses.